Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program costs are estimated based on PER’s experience with monitoring compliance since the County’s adoption of the MMRP Ordinance (Title 20, Chapter 20.02 of the County Code) in 1990. This ordinance was adopted in response to an amendment to CEQA by the California Legislature in 1988, and authorized DERA to recover the costs associated with monitoring compliance with adopted MMRPs.
The monitoring cost for an MMRP is the amount determined by the Environmental Coordinator to be the actual direct and indirect costs incurred by Sacramento County for that MMRP, using labor rates that are adopted by the Board of Supervisors. Until compliance with a specific MMRP is finally achieved and a Program Completion Certificate is issued, monitoring costs are estimated by the Environmental Coordinator. After adoption of an MMRP by the Approving Body, adjustments to the initial estimate are made by the Environmental Coordinator as necessary to accurately reflect the direct and indirect costs incurred by Sacramento County for that Program. It is the responsibility of the project applicant to reimburse DERA for all expenses incurred in the implementation of the MMRP, including any necessary enforcement actions.
These costs include, but are not limited to, tasks such as plan review, correspondence, review of documentation from consultants, coordination with resource agencies, and field inspections throughout project construction. Costs are estimated with the assumption that the applicant will comply with the MMRP. Time-intensive tasks such as repeated plan review and frequent site inspections to resolve continuing non-compliance will result in higher costs, since the costs are based on hourly labor rates.
In addition to the monitoring costs that cover staff time, some mitigation measures may have a financial cost or mitigation fee associated with them. Examples of these measures include tree replacement, wetlands compensation, and Swainson’s hawk foraging habitat mitigation. Below is a table of current costs for these mitigation fees. Please note that these are provided as examples; not all projects will have these costs. For more information, please contact us at 874-7914.
Oak Trees | $325/dbh inch of healthy trees that are authorized for removal with project approval; used if replacement plantings are not feasible on the project site or in the local community | Sacramento Tree Foundation; money is used to plant replacement oak and other native trees |
Wetlands | $35,000.00/acre of impacted wetlands not otherwise mitigated through the federal permitting process | Sacramento County Wetlands Restoration Trust Fund |
Swainson's
hawk foraging habitat | $12,925/acre of impact (only available for projects impacting less than 40 acres of habitat), $500.00 administrative fee per payment
| Sacramento County Swainson’s Hawk Mitigation Program; funds are used to set aside lands as permanent foraging habitat |
